The city began the task of lighting up an entire city block on Monday night to brighten the traditionally dreary and dark winter evenings.

Volunteers unwrapped two pallets of 3,000 new strings of lights — containing 75,000 LED bulbs — to eventually drape 24 buildings.

“The uber lighting project is a volunteer effort to adopt, love and rejuvenate the old downtown of Selkirk. It is one last Canada 150 celebration, to create a legacy of lights for the old downtown for years to come,” the city said in a release.

The lights will remain on for 60 nights from December 1, 2017 to January 31, 2018. They will officially be switched on during Selkirk’s winter festival, Holiday Alley.

Funding for the lights came from a Canada 150 grant through the Community Foundations of Canada and the Selkirk and District Community Foundation.